Most photo albums utilize a construction like a book or a loose-leaf binder, with pages of paper on which the photographs are mounted by various means, such as adhesive, transparent film envelopes affixed to the pages, corner mounts on the pages, etc. In any of these albums, the pages themselves add materially to the bulk and weight of the album; the album is even more excessively "overweight" if transparent envelopes are employed. Cost is frequently more than desired, particularly for albums that are fully assembled prior to sale.
An ideal photo album is one that has minimal size and weight in relation to the number of photographic prints that can be stored in the album. It should be inexpensive to manufacture and assemble and should allow the option, at least, of appreciable assembly by the ultimate purchaser/user; that is, the photo album should be readily adaptable to sale in kit form. The photo album should afford maximum versatility in use, as to print sizes and shapes, either by plural album sizes or by simple and effective adaptation of one album to storage of photos of various sizes. Ready visibility of the stored photos is a requisite feature; the album should expose both sides of the print so that data identifying its contents and history (who, where, what, when) if applied to the back of the photo, is immediately accessible. The photo album should not be dependent upon retained elasticity of any of its elements; most inexpensive elastomer members lose their elasticity as a natural process of aging. Realization of all of these attributes in one album, using conventional constructions, has not previously been effected.